The story

Standing near the coffin of one of her closest friends, Patty Hill made a promise that would forever change her life.

Her friend, Gail, had died from a blood clot just a week after undergoing gastric bypass surgery to make her stomach smaller. Hill was scheduled to have the same surgery and believed it was the only way to end her lifelong struggle with obesity.

Tipping the scales at 280 pounds and standing 5 feet 5 inches tall, Hill says she was depressed, moody and always defensive. The 47-year-old mother from Weymouth, Massachusetts, was morbidly obese, and after her friend's death, she was beginning to lose hope. Read full article »